Privacy vs. Trust in Subscription Businesses

MYTH: “If Customers Trust Us, We Don’t Need to Prioritize Privacy” TRUTH: Trust is not a substitute for privacy compliance. Customers and employees may willingly share their personal information, but trust alone doesn’t justify mishandling their data. Strong relationships are built on transparency, ethical data use, and compliance with privacy laws—not blind faith. Imagine a growing subscription-based company that promises customers “We value your privacy” but tracks their behavior across third-party websites without informing them. Customers may initially trust the company, but once they realize their data has been used without consent, trust is broken, and the company faces reputational damage and regulatory scrutiny. Relationships with customers and employees depend on consistent, ethical, and lawful data handling. Just as in personal relationships, trust in business is easily lost and difficult to regain. Organizations must demonstrate respect for privacy through clear policies, consent management, and transparent data practices. Privacy isn’t about avoiding fines—it’s about fostering genuine trust through accountability, security, and ethical data management. The companies that prioritize privacy today will be the ones customers choose tomorrow. https://lnkd.in/d98pFDWX #GRC #PrivacyAwareness #DataEthics #TrustAndPrivacy

Does trust really move the needle when it comes to privacy? I personally have always liked trust as a selling point for privacy. Customers want to buy products from world class companies. If you aren't baking privacy, security, and RAI/AIG into your products, then you are likely not building world class products. A defect in privacy, security, or RAI/AIG could cause you way more pain than a bug in the software. But, I've seen others argue on this platform that no customer makes a buying decision based on a company's privacy practices. On one hand: People always say they value privacy. They’ll say they’re concerned about data breaches and surveillance. They’ll click "I care about my privacy" on pop-up polls. And they’ll often express frustration when a company has a public privacy fail. On the other hand, the argument favored by anti-trusters on this platform: Look at consumer behavior. How many people read privacy policies? How many willingly share personal details for a discount code? How often do privacy concerns take a backseat to convenience, speed, or cost? Trust, while important, is rarely the sole driver of buying decisions. But it is a critical piece of the puzzle. A breach of trust can destroy a customer relationship overnight, while a strong foundation of trust can make consumers more forgiving, more loyal, and more likely to recommend your brand. So, what does this mean for orgs? Privacy as a hygiene factor: Consumers may not always reward companies for "good" privacy practices, but they’ll punish those that fail. Think of privacy like clean water in a restaurant. No one raves about it, but everyone notices if it’s dirty. Transparency builds credibility: Be open about what you’re doing with data and why. Consumers may not love the details, but they’ll appreciate the honesty. Trust takes a long time to build, but it sure is easy to lose it. At the end of the day, no matter if you are pro-trust or anti-trust as a selling point, I think we can all agree that we have to move Privacy beyond simply a box to check.

Don’t make your subscribers fight to leave. If you have to hide the cancel button to keep them, you’ve already lost. Here’s why trust, not friction, builds retention that lasts. Subscription models work best when they're built on what I call a ”Forever Promise.” But too often, companies take the opposite approach: → $1 first shipments that convert into $200 second charges unless the customer returns everything in time → “Online sign-up, phone-only cancellation” with limited hours → Fine print that hides multi-month commitments That’s not a Forever Promise. That’s a trap. Meanwhile, smart businesses are doing the opposite: → Adding pause buttons instead of just cancel → Offering grace periods after renewals → Tracking inactive accounts and auto-canceling unused subscriptions (like Netflix did) Even financial apps like Truebill and Trim exist because people are so often misled by the businesses they trusted. The companies that win in the long run are the ones that put the relationship first, even when it’s time to say goodbye. If you're building a subscription offering, I encourage your team to take this simple pledge: “We will never hide the cancel button.” Because short-term tricks cost long-term trust. And the businesses that earn trust? They’re the ones with loyal members and recurring value. +++++++++++ 👋 I'm Robbie, I'm a consultant, author, and speaker covering all things subscription businesses. +++++++++++ 🛎 Tap the bell under the banner on my profile to catch the next post. ++++++++++++